Tag: shark

What do marine biologists do all day? It's not all about time in the ocean, though Melissa Marquez often wishes it was! A marine biologist and shark researcher based in Sydney, she has given BBC News a quick guide to ocean research, some of the Great Barrier Reef's residents, and what to do to if you get bitten while scuba diving.What made you decide to focus your research on sharks?I've always had an interest in misunderstood predators, and sharks just happen to be the most misunderstood.When I was about seven, I put on [the Discovery Channel's] Shark Week. I remember seeing a great white shark breaching - so flying through the air, essentially - and I was hooked. By the end of the show I was like: that's what I want to do, I wa...

Media playback is unsupported on your device For the first time in more than 40 years, a great white shark has been recorded swimming off the Spanish Mediterranean island of Majorca.A wildlife conservation group captured footage of the shark wandering around the Cabrera archipelago.The last confirmed sighting of such a fish in the Balearic Islands was by a fisherman in 1976.Great whites can weigh up to two tonnes, grow to lengths of 20ft (6m) and reach speeds of 40km/h (25mph).Why the Jaws shark is not a 'man-eating monster'"The presence of great white sharks in Spanish waters has been a constant rumour," biologist and documentary maker Fernando López-Mirones told Efe news agency."However, we've been unable to document their presence fo...

Large numbers of endangered whale sharks have been sighted in waters off Madagascar.The first major scientific survey in the area shows there are far more of the huge fish than previously thought.Eighty-five individuals were identified in a single season from photographs of their distinctive markings.The coastal waters contain a huge diversity of marine life, including sharks, whales and turtles."No one thought there were that many [whale] sharks," said Stella Diamant of the Madagascar Whale Shark Project in Nosy Be, an island off the coast of Madagascar."They don't seem to be there all year round - they come back for the food."Many starsWhale sharks, which have unique spot patterns, are known locally as marokintana, meaning many...

Two men surfing off the western coast of Australia are lucky to be alive after getting attacked by sharks. Australia’s 9News reported that Jason Longrass, 41, and Alejandro Travaglini, 37, were attacked in two separate incidents less than a mile from each other on Monday in Gracetown. In dramatic video posted on 9News, Travaglini is seen being taken care of by friends before he was flown by helicopter to Perth Royal Hospital for emergency surgery. "He was punching the shark, and, like, there was three attacks, three different attacks in 20 seconds," Mikel Basanies told 9News. The Australian media station reported the Argentinian-born surfer was bit on both legs at just before 8:30 a.m. He was stable after surgery, according to 9News. Just hours later, another attack by what Longrass

A fishing crew has reeled in a 926-pound Mako shark, and New Jersey officials say it's the biggest shark catch in the state's history. The boat's crew was fishing about 100 miles off the coast in an area known as Hudson Canyon on Saturday. The shark was weighed and displayed in Brielle later that day. Kevin Gerrity, captain of the boat, says they didn't think they could manage to catch the shark. It took over two hours to pull it aboard. The New Jersey Division Fish and Wildlife says the previous record weight for a shark caught was an 880-pound tiger shark caught off Cape May in 1988. The Hudson Canyon is populated by a number of large fish, and has produced multiple record setting fish catches.Let's block ads! (Why?)
ABC News: Technology